A WEEK LONG ‘Walk to School’ event has been declared as a roaring success in Moray with over 6000 pupils taking part.
The Living Streets’ ‘Walk to School Week’ saw children from around 200 Moray classrooms joining others from throughout the UK in sampling the benefits of walking to school.
It has been shown that schools become healthier and happier places when pupils walk to school, with the Chief Medical Officer recommending that all children should be active for an hour a day. Walking to school, it is said, is the best free and accessible method of contributing to that target.
A spokesman for Living Streets said: “Teachers tells us that pupils who walk to school are more alert and ready to learn than those who are driven, plus when children walk to school there is less congestion and pollution on local roads, making school gates a safer place.
“Despite these benefits, the number of children walking to school is in decline with just 46% of children making the journey on foot.
“At Living Streets, we are committed to reversing this decline and preventing the problems associated with inactivity, including childhood obesity. Walk to School Week is a great way to start so we’re thrilled that so many Moray pupils joined in.”
Now children are being encouraged to continue the good work by making walking to school a habit.
The spokesman added: “Just because the week of celebration is over, it doesn’t mean families have to stop and we hope families in Moray will be encouraged to continue walking.
“WOW – our year-round walk to school challenge, allows children to experience the mental and physical health benefits of walking all year-round. WOW has been proven to increase the number of children walking to school and – most importantly – pupils love taking part.
“Once again, a huge thank you and congratulations to everyone who took part in this year’s Walk to School Week – with your help we’ll get more children experiencing a healthy and happy walk to school.”
For more information on WoW visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/wow.